Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging control apparatus, an imaging control system, and an imaging control method especially effective in use for capturing a radiation image.
Description of the Related Art
In large-scale hospitals, an information system for a hospital that is called a Hospital Information System (HIS) may be constructed by connecting terminals (computers) in various departments in the hospital to one another via a network (refer to Japan Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-276288). In this case, an information system designed for each of the departments, such as a Radiology Information System (RIS), is provided for each of the departments. Such information system enables a doctor to transmit request information for an examination to another department. This request information is referred to as an examination order. The examination order contains various parameters, such as a name of a department that requests the examination, an examination item (a site to be imaged or the like if the examination is radiation imaging), personal information of a patient, and the like.
For example, when X-ray imaging is determined to be necessary, a doctor inputs request information about the examination from an HIS terminal as an examination order. The HIS terminal transmits the examination order to the RIS in a radiology department that receives a request to conduct the examination. Upon receiving the examination order, the RIS in the radiology department adds an imaging condition and the like to this examination order, and registers this examination order in a Modality Worklist Management (MWM) server. An imaging control system captures a radiation image according to the examination order received from the MWM server.
For example, one possible configuration is to set up a terminal of the RIS and a terminal of the imaging control system together in an operation room, thereby allowing an operator to operate its terminals only by moving a minimum distance. In this case, one possible operation flow is that the RIS issues a request to obtain an examination order to the imaging control system, and the imaging control system obtains the examination order upon receiving the request to obtain the examination order. This operation flow allows the operator to save time and minimize work for performing an operation on each of the terminal of the RIS and the terminal of the imaging control system to obtain the examination order.
However, if the systems are configured in this manner, it is possible that a new request to obtain an examination order may be issued when an examination has been already started. In this case, in some situations, the operator may want the imaging control system to exercise the above-described function of acquiring the examination order upon receiving the new request to obtain the examination order without requiring the operator to perform the operation, but in other situations, the operator may want the imaging control system not to exercise this function. Further, after the examination order is obtained, in some situations, the operator may want the imaging control system to carry out this examination order, and in other situations, the operator may want the imaging control system not to carry out this examination order.